Floods, landscape and people on the Morava/March River (on examples from the 17th up to 19th centuries)

In the natural conditions of central Europe, floods have been occurring at all times and we have to count on their occurrence in the future, too. None of the floods had the same behaviour and impact. All were unique and this is why the lessons learnt from historic flood cases are valuable for both the present time and the future. The analysis of the course of disastrous floods in the basins of Morava/March R. and Odra/Oder R. in July 1997 showed that the damage of properties and the high number of casualties were undoubtedly caused also by the loss of historic flood memory. Because our forefathers knew very well that floods are normal phenomenon and occur practically every year. The goal of this paper is to take our minds back to problems faced by inhabitants settled near the Morava River in connexion with floods and their impacts on examples from the period between the 17th-19th centuries